Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) announces the release of its second generation SiC MOSFET enabling systems to have higher efficiency and smaller size at cost parity with silicon-based solutions. These new 1200V MOSFETs deliver industry-leading power density and switching efficiency at half the cost per amp of Cree’s previous generation MOSFETs. At this price-performance point, they enable lower system costs for OEMs and provide additional savings to the end-user through increased efficiency and lower installation costs due to the lower size and weight of SiC-based systems.

“We have evaluated Cree’s second generation SiC MOSFET in our advanced solar circuits,” stated Prof. Dr. Bruno Burger, renowned industry expert at the Fraunhofer-Institute in Freiburg, Germany. “They have state-of-the-art efficiency and enable system operation at higher switching frequencies that result in smaller passive components, especially smaller inductors. This substantially improves the cost-performance tradeoff in solar inverters in favor of smaller, lighter and more efficient systems.”

The superior performance of these new SiC MOSFETs enables the reduction of required current rating by 50-70 percent in some high power applications. When properly optimized, customers can now get the performance benefits of SiC with the same or lower systems cost as with previous silicon solutions. For solar inverters and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, the efficiency improvement is accompanied by size and weight reductions. In motor drive applications the power density can be more than doubled while increasing efficiency and providing up to twice the maximum torque of similarly rated silicon solutions. The product offering range has been extended to include a much larger 25 mOhm die aimed at the higher power module market for power levels above 30 kW. The 80 mOhm device is intended as a lower cost, higher performance upgrade to the first generation MOSFET.

“With our new MOSFET platform, we already have design wins in multiple segments,” explained Cengiz Balkas, vice president and general manager, Cree Power and RF. “Due to the rapid acceptance of this second generation of SiC MOSFETs, we are shipping pre-production volumes to several customers ahead of schedule and we are ramping volume production in-line with customer demand.”

Die are available with ratings of 25 mOhms, intended as a 50 Amp building block for high power modules, and 80 mOhm. The 80 mOhm MOSFET in a TO-247 package is intended as a higher performance, lower cost replacement for Cree’s first-generation CMF20120D. Packaged parts are available immediately from DigiKey, Mouser and Farnell.

Attendees of the APEC Conference, March 17-21 in Long Beach, CA can learn more about the new products at Cree’s booth #210.

About Cree

Cree is a market-leading innovator of semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications, lighting-class LEDs and LED lighting solutions.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the risk that actual savings will vary from expectations; the risk we may be unable to manufacture these new products with sufficiently low cost to offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production of our new products; customer acceptance of our new products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 24, 2012, and subsequent filings.